


Outside the Lines

by shadeshifter



Series: On the Line [2]
Category: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Numb3rs
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 09:54:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12340371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadeshifter/pseuds/shadeshifter
Summary: Outtakes and extra scenes for Drawing the Line.





	1. Confrontations

**Author's Note:**

> When I say that telling me things you’d like to see jump starts my creative process, this is what I mean.
> 
> Outtake for Drawing the Line, Chapter 21.

“What is going on here, Gibbs?” Callen demanded once they were out in the fresh air and the door had closed behind them, giving them some privacy.

“DiNozzo turned rat,” Gibbs growled. “Should have expected it after everything that happened in Baltimore.”

Like most agents, Callen had a low tolerance for agents that turned on other agents and an even lower one for those who were dirty. He didn’t think DiNozzo was a traitor or dirty, but it was hard to figure Gibbs was either. Gibbs had saved his life and he trusted him as much as he trusted anyone, but something wasn’t adding up.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Callen asked, trying for the most neutral option and hopefully the one that would get him answers.

“DiNozzo couldn’t handle the hard decisions,” Gibbs snarled, his tone cutting and entirely uncompromising. “He always did fall short on the follow through.”

“Is that what you think happened here?” Callen asked, unimpressed. He might not know the details, but he knew Homeland had been involved. He knew Tony had stuck by a decision that burned all his bridges behind him because he believed it was right. He also knew that Vance and Gibbs had believed Bodnar to be behind the death of Vance’s wife and Eli David and that Bodnar was now dead.

“It’s what I know happened! DiNozzo is nothing but a coward coasting by on good looks and sleazy charm!”

His fist was colliding with Gibbs’ face before the thought had even crystallised in his brain. Gibbs reeled back before coming at him swinging, but Callen blocked and shifted his position, using Gibbs’ momentum to bring Gibbs around, pinning his arm behind him and holding for a moment before pushing him away. Gibbs was good, excellent even, but he was getting older and he didn’t regularly spar with an ex-Navy Seal twice his size.

“Don't make me drag you out of here myself,” Callen told him, unflinching in the face of the glare Gibbs shot him.

“I thought you were better than this,” Gibbs told him. “Better than him.”

“I thought you were just a hardass, willing to do what it took to get the job done, make the hard decisions,” Callen said. “But it looks like you just wanted an excuse to spread the misery around.”

“You don’t know anything about it!”

“Clearly not as much as I thought I did. You took a good man, a great agent and an excellent asset to the agency and you tore him down,” Called told him, voice rising. “And the only reason I can see for why is just because you could!”

“If he can’t hack it, he shouldn’t be in this business,” Gibbs said, dismissive and entirely unbending. Tony was one of the best agents Callen had seen, he had more than a little in common with Callen himself, and he couldn’t see where Gibbs was coming from.

“When did you lose your perspective?” Callen asked, getting in Gibbs’ space. “When did your agenda become more important to you than your agents?”

“When did you get soft!?”

Callen realised that this wasn’t the man he’d worked with, the man he’d trusted. Something had happened that had changed him, broken him, and he wondered how he hadn’t seen it. Maybe it was because he’d only seen him occasionally over the last few years, maybe Gibbs was just struggling more to hide it now. This Gibbs was hard, without any of the give and take Callen was used to.

“Maybe retirement will be good for you,” Callen said, stepping back.

“The job is the only thing I have,” Gibbs yelled and Callen’s anger faded, turning into pity. That wasn’t true, not even close. He had Callen, he’d had Tony and his team, Abby and Ducky, even Fornell. If Gibbs had refused to see what was there, had refused to grab onto what was being freely offered, then that wasn’t Tony’s fault.

“If that’s the case, then it’s because you’ve pushed everything else away,” Callen told him. “I’m still your friend, I’m here if you need to talk, but you need to leave Tony alone.”

“I’m done here,” Gibbs said, sending him a dark look that would have had him warding off the evil eye if he was more in touch with his family history. Without another word, Gibbs spun and stalked off, his shoulders back and hands curled into fists. Callen sighed.


	2. Reassurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone wanted more Deeks. Here you go.
> 
> Post-Drawing the Line.

Tony sat in his car, absently drumming the steering wheel as he considered what he should do. Finally, he pulled out his phone and called Don.

“Hey, good looking,” Don said and Tony could hear the smile in his voice. “We running this morning? We can try that new pancake place after.”

“Sorry, _caro_ ,” Tony said reluctantly. As much as he liked the sound of joining Don for their usual run, he had other concerns for the moment. “I wanted to check in on Deeks.”

It had been almost three months since Deeks had walked away, needing the time to get his head back in the game, and Tony knew he still wasn’t quite there. Kensi had taken Deeks out to dinner the night before and Tony wasn’t willing to stand between them, but he was keen to check in on Deeks and get a feel for his state himself.

“I get it,” Don assured him. “You go do what you need to.”

“Rain check?” 

“I’m having dinner with Charlie tonight, but we can do something tomorrow if I don’t catch a case?” Don offered. 

Despite the somewhat rocky start, things had been going well with Don. Better than most of Tony’s other relationships. But then that had included practically being left at the altar and seducing the daughter of an international arms dealer. 

“Can’t wait,” Tony told him. 

“See you then,” Don said and they said their goodbyes. 

Tony set off for Deeks’ place, picking up donuts and coffee on the way, and only wondered what he was going to tell Deeks about showing up on his doorstep when he was there, knocking on the door. Deeks looked at him for a moment before standing aside and letting him in.

“Is it Callen’s turn to check on me next?” he asked, closing the door and joining Tony on the couch. 

“I think Nell and Hetty might be ahead of him on the sign up sheet,” Tony joked with a too bright grin, trying to keep it light. 

“I’m doing fine,” Deeks said, not looking at Tony as he opened the box of donuts. “I don’t need everyone making sure.”

“It’s not really about you,” Tony said, disregarding Deeks’ indignant “thanks” as he continued. “It’s about us needing that reassurance.”

“Well...” Deeks said, trailing off as he leaned back, clearly not sure how to address that comment. “Apparently you went and got yourself kidnapped for a Fed.”

“Only a little bit.”

“Was that supposed to be reassuring? Because that wasn’t reassuring,” Deeks said and they grinned at each other like no time had passed.


End file.
